


The Unending Snow

by ThatWhichWrites



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Body Horror, EcoPoint, Gen, Horror, Monster - Freeform, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Suspense, it's the thing but overwatch basically, sci fi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 16:26:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11165631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatWhichWrites/pseuds/ThatWhichWrites
Summary: What happened at EcoPoint: Antarctica? Mei speaks only of a sudden and terrible storm. She admits she and her colleagues turned to cryostasis for safety... But the truth and it's implications are far more insidious...--Seriously though, it's The Thing (1982) but with Mei basically. I don't know if this has been done yet, but I'mma do it anyway.





	The Unending Snow

**Author's Note:**

> On EcoPoint, if you look at Mei's friends' names they're already some Thing references. That and all of EcoPoint hints at something way more fucked up happening than just dwindling supplies and malfunctioning cryostatis. Like Mei's sad little birthday cards to herself ;-; Yet Mei doesn't have any voicelines as she walks around it at all (???). suspicious...

There are almost an infinite number of ways a stranger might be introduced to Dr. Mei Ling Zhou’s current situation. The explanations could start at months prior or mere days. Yet, none of it would matter. She would die here. No one would ever know what happened. This, she was sure of. 

Her body shook from the cold. Brief flashes of memories overtook her mind for awhile. The sounds of her colleagues- no, her friends laughing and chatting filled her with a momentary warmth. It blocked out the heavy breathing outside the door. Just for a minute. The frosted, bleak interior of the storage room faded into white. In it’s place she saw her friends’ faces. 

They were calling out to her. Reaching their hands out. She tried to call back but something kept her voice quiet. She blinked blearily at the phantoms beckoning her forward. 

_Aren’t you cold, Mei? Come on, it’s warm here. Don’t worry._

Indeed it seemed much warmer there. There… Where was there? Mei reached for their outstretched hands but her gloved fingers could grasp only air. Her breath hitched as the white metal walls of the room came into focus. 

_It’s so cold, Mei. Come with me. We’ll go somewhere warm._

Shaking her head, she hugged herself. No. Something wasn’t right. She could hear the words clear as day in her mind. She could see McCready’s lips speaking them, his smile kind and sincere. It wasn’t right. The voice was coming from outside. 

Her tongue fumbled with a foreign but familiar alphabet, “You aren’t real, McCready.” She smiled wryly. 

Another memory. She and McCready mock arguing. He was so stubborn but he meant well. Even on her first day at the EcoPoint he’d given her a hard time. But always with that smirk. He couldn’t keep a straight face. Every joke or playful jab was plainly readable on his otherwise serious face. She closed her eyes. This way she could see it. 

She could see Carter and Dube too. Their faces as welcoming as on her first day. Everyone had been so kind to her. It made her feel foolish that she’d ever been nervous about it. So kind… 

_Come join us, Mei. You don’t have to be by yourself._

Her shoulders shook violently. Whether from grief or cold, it was hard to tell. Everyone was gone now, weren’t they? They were gone and that _thing_ was _still_ here. She could hear it. Shuffling around in the snow outside. It knew she was awake. It hadn’t tried to leave after all. Had she any energy for it, she might have been curious as to why.  
Her body was weak and sore. Extended cryostasis wasn’t great. Emergency extended cryostasis with minimal supplies was at least ten times worse. She wouldn’t be able to fight the thing if it came down to it. Not again. There was no making it to the cryostasis chambers again either. 

She put a trembling hand to her forehead. How was it that she was so tired now? After sleeping for that long? How long had it been even? Her muscles were so stiff. Her legs so terribly unsteady. She had trouble standing. It had been a struggle to simply get to the storage room. 

Now, her legs finally gave out. She crawled toward a corner far from the door. Far from the hissing, grumbling creature kicking up a ruckus outside. Between two cabinets and a few boxes she wedged herself into a small cubby. With considerable effort, she managed to pull the boxes of tools and parts closer. Bits of sheet metal clanged slightly as she made a small roof overhead. The sound elicited deep grunts from the thing outside. 

The door had been blocked off. But that didn’t mean that was the only way in. It was only a matter of time before it found the back door or forced it’s way through her makeshift barricade. Mei pulled the last box into place. She’d cocooned herself with metal and junk. Dimly hoping the creature might not see her. She knew it would. Or it would smell her. Or sense her slowly dying heat. But still, she hoped. 

Mei drew her knees up to her chest and hid her face. She wasn’t giving up. Not yet. She just needed to...to rest. Just for a few minutes. She just had to close her eyes. They were just that heavy. And it was cold. Still so cold. In a minute she’d make a plan. She’d do something. But right now, she had to rest. Her body felt numb. She could barely move her fingers. 

_Mei- are you cold?_

She just needed to rest. 

_Mei- are you col..?_

Just for a second.

_Mei- are you...?_

Just for…

_Mei-_

||| 

“Mei- are you cold?” 

The helicopter had just landed. Mei awkwardly clambered out in her bulky winter suit, attempting to carry her bags with her. Someone grabbed her bag before it hit the snow and flashed her a smile. 

“I’m alright!” she readjusted her glasses as her feet sunk into the white powder. 

The man holding her bag nodded, his beard speckled with white, “We’ll get inside soon. It’s actually pretty warm out today,” he turned to look behind him at smattering of buildings that made up the EcoPoint, “Still, pretty easy to get frostbite out like this.” 

He pointed to the land rover nearby. Through the glass, Mei could just make out the silhouette of another person behind the wheel. She gave a little wave as she stumbled forward through the thick snow. 

“The area’s been giving us some pretty standard readings. Everything’s in line with the past decade or so of records,” the man explained as they moved toward the rover. Behind them, the helicopter started up again. It’s whirling blades blew powder snow into their backs as it lifted up into the air. 

Mei had to raise her voice to be heard over the humming of the engine, “But it’s still following the warming trend.” 

The man said something she couldn’t hear. He looked over his shoulder, watching the helicopter leave. “It’ll be interesting to see if your little machine can reverse the trend.” He laughed, but not in a mocking way. “At least temporarily, eh?”

She laughed softly too, but her eyes betrayed the seriousness in her words, “It’s only over a small area. But, it’s worth a shot.” 

She spoke with an accent. The man found it somewhat refreshing. This particular EcoPoint didn’t get a lot of thru-traffic or transfers. Those who worked here tended not to leave for years at a time. A fresh face was quite welcome. 

The were within feet of the rover. Overhead, the helicopter was already on it’s way. Mei took a moment to look around. Everything was white and dull blue. Her words turned to little clouds as soon as they left her lips, “It’s beautiful here.”

“You get sick of it pretty fast,” the man assured. 

She just giggled to herself. She couldn’t imagine being sick of the pristine snow or the mountain backdrop. “I bet the stars are so bright out here.”  
The doors of the land rover opened. Mei shoved her bags as far she could into the back seat before grasping the frigid metal handlebars and pulling herself over the treads and inside. The man shuffled in next to her and pulled the heavy door shut. 

The driver turned around in her seat and smiled warmly at them both. 

“Hello Dr. Zhou! I hope you had a good trip here,” she extended a gloved hand. 

Mei grasped the hand as best as she could through her mittens, “It’s an honor to be here.” A sudden chill struck her and she shivered, “Brr!” 

The man chuckled, “It’s getting late. And colder. Let’s go somewhere warmer, eh?” 

 

  
|||

_It’s getting late._

There were tears tucked under her bottom lashes. Even with her body heat, they threatened to freeze her eyes shut. That thing was still there. It knocked against the door and hissed. She could hear its twisted body heavy on the snow and metal walkways outside. 

_Mei, it’s getting late._

_Aren’t you cold?_

_Come out here, we’ll go somewhere warm._

**Author's Note:**

> I should really be doing essays. Or finishing the other thing I'm writing. But I had this idea get stuck and I got excited about it. I think it's the mix of Penumbra: the Black Plague and rewatching The Thing that did it. I hope you've enjoyed and might look forward to what may come next!
> 
> Farewell until then.


End file.
